"...so the Papa Tomato said to the Baby Tomato...KETCHUP!"

The house is a mess. Has been for (checking the calendar) ONLY two weeks. No (checking the calendar again) - two weeks, two days. Feels like two years.

Finally had some time off (two weeks, two days) and decided to begin the long overdue process of replacing the kitchen floor. When I moved in, the floor was horrible. Too costly to completely replace, I chose to cover it with stick down floor tiles. Never imagined almost six years later, I'd be the one pulling them off, one by one, applying the adhesive remover and then scraping the gunk off hours later. Nightmare project. Next time, I'm leaving the endless floor scrubbing to Cinderella.

The test area. Okay, maybe not so bad...

This floor is a liar. It is bad!

By now, I officially hate these tiles.

The new floor will be beautiful "henna" colored click tiles that, once installed, will "float" over the old floor. Problem is, I didn't order enough. Exactly half of what we needed. Such a girl. I can build a set with my eyes closed, but ask me to measure the square footage of my kitchen - fail!

In the meantime, while waiting for more flooring, I bought a new sleek refrigerator and fell in love! Stainless cabinet depth model - the bottles sparkle it's so bright inside.

waiting for the new flooring, hating the old fridge

...five store visits later, I buy my first major kitchen appliance!

Today, I tore everything out of my office, had a faster internet connection installed, and decided with the amount of misplaced furniture, kitchen items, and odd flea market finds, my place looks ready for an estate sale or an episode of hoarders.

"Yes, that is a canvas monkey painting."

"Yes, that was given to me by Ruth."

Old Advantex film...toss!

Siouxsie Peek-a-boo mask - keep!

Luckily, the remaining flooring arrived today and will be installed next week. See why I haven't written sooner? I'm in love with talking about remodeling and refrigerators. Yawn. Even I know I'm boring you. But that's what's going on.

The heat is finally here, everyone is cleaning up and out their shite, and Grace will be here soon to see the new look.

PS - just so you know I'm not exaggerating, I'll add a picture in the morning. In the darkness, the piles look like cityscapes in the shadows.

And then it was August...

Oooh weeeee!

I turned the page on my "California" calendar to the month of August and there it was, in big red letters. The second to the last box in the bottom right corner.

September 3rd- GO HOME! :)
I have officially begun the countdown to coming home. It's strange to see the big red letters that I wrote back at the end of February. I wish I could fast forward through these last four weeks and beam myself (Star Trek style) right into my bed all squishy and warm in my parent's guesthouse in Downey. I can already hear the customs officer saying "welcome home." It always gets me choked up; it means so much more nowadays.

I can't wait to hear your voices, to give you hugs, to hear all the gossip, to taste real Mexican food and yummy frozen yogurt, to smell the ocean, to drive my car and sit in traffic, to go to Target and Costco, to...to...to...

I just can't wait.

I promise...

...I am going to post soon. I was saving it as my special treat after I finished my expense reports. Now, it will be my special treat after Sunday Weekend Edition's puzzlemaster. Bon Jour and Bon nuit. xxK

**Monday, 9/08/2010 - 3:15pm, PST. STILL working on expenses. xxK

now that it's August, let's talk about July

I couldn't seem to get myself together to post a thing in the month of July... and it was an active month. Before it gets away from me, I'm going to start posting some fun things that happened in that sometimes hot, sometimes gloomy, always active month. First and foremost, there were fireworks (as seen here on the 3rd of July at the Reinika Party House).

No party is complete without a box of old fireworks (will they still work? will we catch Douglas/Todd's boat on fire? just light em up and we'll see!)

It's always fun to try to write your name with a sparkler. It would be more fun if Ruth knew the appropriate setting for her fancy camera to capture the action... a lucky shot or two were captured nonetheless. :)

And thus began our July. Another installment of Americana Fun to follow...

Paris Plage

PARISIAN SUMMER = Sun, rain, humidity, tourists, long lines and pasty white Parisians in tiny bathing suits lying on the beach along the Seine. WT?! A beach along the river, you ask? Oh yes, the summer phenomena is back my friends.

Since 2002, the city has been putting on "Paris Plage" for the denizens of Paris. They bring in tons of sand, boxed palm trees and lounge chairs and set them up along one side of the Seine to re-create the beach. I went there yesterday to check it out.

It was pretty fun to people watch...oh, the eye candy and the eye sores. Yowza! Teeny weeny suits on guys and gals and I spied many shades of rosey-uh-oh-I'm-really-gonna-hurt-tomorrow skin in the crowd. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the atmosphere though and it was so nice to bury my feet in some sand. All that was missing was the smell of the ocean and the sound of the waves...."ain't nuthin' like the real thang baby."

6 weeks and counting...

Brocante Fever

Last weekend the hubs and I hit the road back to Champagne to see some friends, drink some bubbly and check out the goods at the annual brocante in Charleville. Tu veux une armoire? Look no further. Begging for a buffet? Et voila! The sun was beating down so hard that the tar on the streets was melting- thank goodness I was wearing a crappy pair of Converse and not some cute sandals! ha.

With all the treasures to be found, I came away with a solo bag of pretty ribbon to jazz up future gifts. Believe me, ice cream grandma would've been in our back seat in a minute if we had somewhere fun to put her! (Thinking back, she'd look super-bon in our teeny backyard! Missed opportunity- crap.)

Oh well, there's always next year!
A toute de suite!

My Sweet Girl

I just wanted to take a moment to say that I truly miss my girl, Maddie. We met on February 14th, 2000 and we had to say goodbye on June 26th, 2010. Madeline was with me for 10 1/2 years of her life, and I'm awfully glad she decided to let me provide her forever home. She was my sweet, loving and often crazy dog for a long time, and I miss her. I'm grateful she stayed with me as long as she could, and even more grateful she's somewhere lounging in the sun and chasing small critters to her hearts content.

Thanks to both Kristina and Gracie for being so good to her, and giving her just what she always wanted: companionship and love.

Paris Made By Hand

A short while ago, a very stylish friend of mine sent me a cool book to explore Paris with...(hmmm...who could that be? xxK) I've read through it a gazillion times and have marked all the cool little places I want to check out. So far, the hubs and I have hit 3 of them.

Yesterday, we checked out... Le Petit Atelier de Paris- OMG. Talk about minimalist cuteness at its BEST! The front window is adorable and enticing with simple white ceramic doodads hung with care. I want to buy EVERYTHING there! Not to mention the sweet little pup dozing off in his little wooden house in the shop. gasp- tres tres mignon! We will go there together ladies. Oh yes, we will go there.

Pep's - apparently the ultimo in umbrella fixer-upping. His wee (and I mean weeeee) shop is in a secret garden-esque courtyard that's 400 years old! Alas, Pep only works for 3 hours on Saturdays so no dice in checking out the merch, but we peeped inside and oooh the treasures that await.
Merci beaucoup for the fun book Kristina!!

Take Me Out to the Baaaaaaallllllll Game (esp if it's in San Francisco!)

A couple months ago, when Jet Blue was having one of those fantastic sales, Mark and I decided to go to San Francisco. More importantly, when the Red Sox would be playing the Giants. Yes, ladies, I've planned trips around concerts, shopping, and parades...this was my first ball game. And because of the Hollywood Bowl season, we had to be back before Sunday.

So here's how we managed to eat, drink, and be merry for thirty-two hours:

10:30 am:

Mark swore by the food at Dottie's True Blue Cafe. Warned me there would be a line and we would probably wait an hour. He was right. But man, was it delicious. I went a little carb crazy - how could you not? Black bean cakes, I'm in. Share some blueberry-cornmeal cakes, don't mind if I do. Food made with love. Worth all the calories, honest. I think I even used REAL sugar in my coffee.

1:00pm:

We dropped our bags off at the Hotel Adagio and headed to Union Square. Since it was extra chilly at noon, and knowing we were seeing a night game, I convinced Mark we had to go to Neimans to buy a sweater. In reality, it was so I could have a popover. Found a thin layering T on the rounder and a seat at the bar. Two sidecars later, the popover arrived. With a view of Union Square and strawberry jam melting on the hot pastry, we spent a couple hours taking in the customers and enjoying the booze.

5:30pm:

This may be one of the best ball parks for location, location, location. And the only time I've seen a game where I wish I was wearing North Face. Man, Chilly! We arrived early enough to watch batting practice, wave to the kayakers in the bay, and walk around the stadium.

We wore Red Sox hats to represent the nation (and to regulate our core temperatures). Even after my veggie dog and cinnamon walnuts (okay, and Irish coffee) I was becoming a human popsicle. We lasted six innings. The Red Sox were loosing and I couldn't feel my feet. I even passed up a Flashmob Michael Jackson Dance Party so I could be back in the hotel to watch the ninth inning on TV.

Our first day was great. Our second day...dare I say, even better? Stay tuned.

The Carnies are Coming!

Yesterday, I went to the Sorbonne to register for my summer course. It took all but 5 minutes to get in and out and I even got a cool student ID card. (which I will not share cuz the pic was taken after a sweaty walk uphill and a case of the pre-menstrual bloat) Since the day was so nice, I decided to take a walk through the Tuileries Gardens to the W.H. Smith to buy a magazine.

BAD idea...My sandals were giving me insane blisters and the little pebbles kept finding their way in and rubbing up against them. Hobble hobble, Ow. 6 bandaids later...

GOOD idea...At the end of the garden they were setting up for a summer carnival and lordy what I came upon was a party prop dream! Do you think this guy would fit in Donny's living room?!? Oy vay!